Increased supply of Ecuadorian pitahaya from next week

Syngenta Foundation

Guatemala: Farmforce, a revolutionary tool for agricultural management
The Agritrade fair, held in Guatemala at the end of last month, brought together members from all over the sector and presented many new innovations. One of them is Farmforce, a new farm management tool. Farmforce is a revolutionary software that helps producers of all types of crops with their traceability,…..

Increased supply of Ecuadorian pitahaya from next week
“Ecuador has five seasons of yellow pitahaya, of which three are with big volumes and two seasons with smaller volumes. During the past three weeks the supply of this fruit was very low, however, we are happy to announce that in about one week, we will start the new harvest and supply levels will be sufficient…..

Low production
Chilean kiwis achieve high prices in Europe
Producers and exporters of Chilean Hayward kiwis are expected to have good results in this campaign. This year, Europe’s production of this variety is 20% lower than in the previous year. The lower volume will have an impact on the prices that will especially benefit companies, such as Exportadora e…..

Jalisco is the second producer behind Michoacan
Mexico: Avocado production grows by 21.3% in a year
Jalisco, which has 22,000 hectares planted with avocado crops, is Mexico’s second biggest producer of this product, only after Michoacan, and plans to continue growing based on irrigation technology.The director of the Association of Avocado Producing Exporters of Jalisco (Apeajal), Ignacio Gomez Arregui, said…..

Raspberry and blueberry consumption in Chile increases
Chile’s exporting family companies have limited markets because of their scarce logistics. As a result, the US and Canada are their first options when allocating their products.Among them, raspberries and blueberries stand out, as these fruits are very appreciated and consumed in the north of the continent……
Representatives of the USDA-APHIS visit the Chilean fruit industry
Russell Duncan, Assistant Regional Manager for South America from the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS), and Annabella Reszczynski, a USDA-APHIS Agricultural Scientist at Chile, visited Chile’s fruit export fruit sector to get to know, in situ, the sector and its Pre-shipment Program,…..
New Zealand: Cyclone Cook makes landfall
Hundreds of people in New Zealand have been evacuated from some coastal areas as the second major storm in just over a week made landfall near the North Island town of Whakatane.Authorities warn conditions may be like those of 1968’s Cyclone Giselle. Landslides, flooding and wind damage from 150kph gusts are…..

Certification in vegetable cutting improves job opportunities
Desert Farms/Horticola Del Desierto is proud to announce the graduation of 340 employees who have been officially certified in Vegetable Cutting. The company has been promoting this certificate in collaboration with their main alliance the Federal STPS and INCA RURAL (Secretary of Commerce Mexico).2-month…..

“No passion fruit from Colombia for ten days now”
Currently, there are large shortages of passion fruit. “We haven’t had supply from Colombia for ten days now. I can’t remember this ever happening before. We’ll only receive a supply by the end of this week. We’ve been telling people ‘no’ the entire week.” Prices are sky-high. “Passion fruit that arrives from…..

JP Kloninger with Pasco Foods
“Organic pineapples from Costa Rica are our primary focus”
With the feeling that there is an undersupplied market for organic pineapples, not only in the US but also globally, last year Pasco Foods, Inc. began its program with fresh organic pineapples, grown in Costa Rica under the CostaVerde brand.Pasco is vertically integrated with the largest privately owned…..

Special South Africa

Clive Garrett – ZZ2

South Africa: Very good start for avocado exports
The avocado season has been under way for a few weeks now and for those exporters who have them, the market is very good, particularly in Europe”The season has been very good so far,” explains Clive Garrett from South African exporter ZZ2. “We had good rain earlier in the season so sizing is good, also there…..
Global Focus Greenhouse
1,500 participants at Russian VegCult forum

Russia serious about upscaling greenhouse production
The 3rd International Horticulture Forum at VegCult welcomed over 1,500 participants. The following issues were discussed during the forum: governmental support for the horticulture sector; processing aspects and infrastructure for the sales of vegetables and potatoes; the work of genetic and vegetable…..

China: The recovery of the apple market in 2017
“For most of 2016, apples were going through a market downturn in China. With low yields and poor average quality, sales were sluggish. On the other hand, the slow sales discouraged many growers and reduced their motivation to invest in fertilizer. The good news is that since the second half of 2016, the…..
Good volumes of summer squash from Mexico
“Due to optimal weather conditions, growing circumstances for squash have been ideal this season,” says Leonardo Tarriba with Farmer’s Best. The company grows gray, yellow and Italian squash in Mexico. The so called ‘summer squash’ varieties are planted in protected greenhouses in Culiacan, on Mexico’s western…..

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Leafy greens move to Central California
Bell peppers, green beans and sweet corn harvested in Southern California’s desert
Uesugi Farms, a year-round producer of peppers, green beans, and sweet corn, is preparing to harvest in the Coachella Valley in Southern California.In the spring, armies of trucks hit the roads to transfer leafy green growing operations from the deserts in Yuma, AZ, and Imperial County and the Coachella…..

Base can be taken apart
New shipping-friendly harvest bin launched
For the first time ever, a harvest bin has been manufactured that is efficient to ship. “This is a customer driven product,” says Hugo Ramos with Macro Plastics. “Our customers told us what they needed and we followed through,” added Ramos.Base can be taken apartThe new product is part of the family of Hybrid…..
Major mango shortages
“We currently have good demand for all sizes of mango, and prices are high. Supply, on the other hand, is very limited. Regarding mangoes, it’s been very calm for us for weeks now. We’ll receive two containers this week, with the Palmer and Tommy varieties from Brazil. These containers were sold out some weeks…..
Millions of boxes of bananas handled in Vlissingen, The Netherlands
In 2015, banana giant Chiquita decided to no longer sail to Antwerp, but to land their bananas in Vlissingen. Last year, the service on the Bremerhaven was also discontinued. That was good for the port in Zeeland, and especially for Kloosterboer, who has been handling these bananas since then. The branch in…..

Spanish growers take advantage of delays in Dutch production
The Spanish greenhouse growers in Almeria seem to pull their crops through a little longer than usual. They are trying to continue as long as possible in order to take advantage of the good market prices and lower supplies from growers in other parts of Europe. This is also outlined in the recent analytic…..

Juan Báñez, director general de Cuna de Platero:
“Large retailers aren’t ready for all the blueberries that are to come”
Huelva’s blueberry harvest has started at the usual dates this season, unlike last year, when it kicked off earlier due to the high temperatures. Moreover, the market transition between the blueberries from the southern hemisphere and Spanish blueberries has been very smooth, according to Juan Báñez, general…..

Patrick Meikle – Golden Bay
“Colouring is very good this year from New Zealand”
The first New Zealand Cox apples have arrived in the UK from the grower/exporter Golden Bay. New Zealand was expecting a record crop this year, according to official estimates issued in January, although it looks like the actual figure may come in lower. We have packed most of our Gala now and it looks like we…..

Special Fruit are offering Dutch, Beglian and Spanish strawberries
Special Fruit has announced that the company will be offering Spanish Calinda strawberries in addition to the local strawberries from Belgium and the Netherlands. The company stands behind the idea that customers always want more choice saying, “The more choice, the more enjoyment!” Special fruit also made a…..

Optical sorting advancing
Internal quality is a hot item in the onion sector. After the US, Europe has now also started optically sorting. Since 2014, there’s a cooperation between Ellips/Elisam and JDC. The camera-sorting machines from Ellips/Elisam and the suction systems from Jongejans Luchttechniek have proven themselves in such a…..

Trendwatcher Anneke Ammerlaan:
“Retail is facing a major challenge”
More attention for the vegetable range has been a trend that’s been happening for some time now, according to Professor Gino van Ossel from the Vlerick Business School. He expects the trend to just continue in 2017. “The penchant for authenticity and the search for the special will last a while longer,” he…..

Lots of catches when anticipating cabbage hype
Various types of cabbage are on the list of modern super foods, yet it is one of the oldest grown crops on earth, both in Asia and Europe. Many varieties were created on those two continents over the centuries. With kale as its frontrunner, multiple types of cabbage are advancing. However, agriculturalists are…..

Polymer Logistics presents industry standards for RPC Labels at ProMat 2017
Paul Pederson, VP of Protein & Dairy Supply Chain and Food Safety for Polymer Logistics and Chairman of the Reusable Packaging Association (RPA) Food & Beverage Committee, presented new standards for RPC labels to material management and supply chain executives at last week’s ProMat 2017.“Non-compliant…..
Kenyan avocado growers seek direct access to EU market
In order to market directly to the EU market, smallholder avocado farmers in Murang’a are planning to launch a co-operative society next week.The move follows the intervention of the county government that last year started distributing free seedlings of the commercially viable Hass cultivar avocado, which has…..
Fresh Business Expo 2017 planned for December 5 in Ukraine
The fruit and vegetable business is one of a few sectors of the Ukrainian economy, which is ready and has partially applied both the range of technologies to add surplus value to their produce and modern approaches to trading relations between different participants of produce supply chain.With that said,…..

Over 100 companies attend Port of Dover ‘Meet the Buyer’ event
Over 100 companies and 250 attendees from across Kent and the South East turned out for the Dover Western Docks Revival (DWDR) Meet the Buyer event last week to learn about the scope of the forthcoming works at the Port of Dover.The event was hosted by the Port of Dover and VolkerStevin Boskalis Westminster…..

China: Banana prices forecast to continue rising
In the past few days the rise in the price for bananas has been obvious. Currently the retail price for bananas stands at 0.63-0.68 EUR (4.6-5 RMB) per kilogram. Over the last ten days a kilogram of bananas has risen 0.19 EUR (1.4 RMB) in price. The main reason is that the remaining bananas from Yunnan…..

New apple variety exceeds expectations
Next Fruit Generation Australia, a subsidiary of Lenswood Apples has launched another new variety, Miapple. The block-red apple, a suspected cross between Royal Gala and the Fuji, has been observed by industry leader Joyson Orchards over many years and carries the unique competitive advantage of being an early…..

High tensions hurting tomato trade between Pak/India
The rising tensions between India and Pakistan after a Pakistani military court sentenced Kulbhushan Jadhav to death on charges of spying, has hit the trade between the neighbouring countries through the Attari-Wagah land route near Amritsar.The traders in the region allege that, following the issue, Pakistan…..

Remarkable increase of exports from Belarus to Russia
Turkey and Russia to discuss boycott next week
According to Turkish media, talks about the boycott will take place between the representatives of Turkey and Russia next week, quoting the Turkish Minister of Economic Affairs, Nihat Zeybekci.“It doesn’t matter where and when we talk about these matters to me. No country can win anything through boycotts,…..

China: garlic price’s final flare before new season starts
In March and April, there are still a number of public holidays that affect China’s fruit and vegetable market. Before Tomb Sweeping Day, a national holiday on April the 3th, garlic prices on the Xinfadi market (the largest in Beijing) rose substantially again.The wholesale price reached 19.5 RMB (2.67 EUR) a…..
BREEAM Outstanding qualification for Aviko’s new cold store
Aviko has achieved the highest possible BREAAM sustainability score for its cold store, yet to be built in Steenderen. Because of this, the company received the internationally recognised certificate ‘BREAAM Outstanding,’ the highest of five possible assessment qualifications. The design team consists of…..

Indian foodies driving sales of new mango varieties
Nagpur, India might be known internationally as the Orange city, but it is the mangoes that rule the hearts and markets too.Director of the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Rajesh Chhabrani, reported that, “During the entire mango season in summer, people of Nagpur consume almost 10000 tonne…..

131 million Euro
30% of Valencia’s citrus production lost this campaign
This campaign, Valencian citrus producers estimate their accumulated losses at 131 million Euro, as revealed by the top representatives of Cooperatives Agro-alimentàries (Cirilo Arnandis), AVA-Asaja (Cristóbal Aguado), La Unió de Llauradors (Ramón Mampel) and Fepac de Castellón (Néstor Pascual), who defined…..

NZ apple prices continue to fall from January peak
Apple prices were $2.88 a kilogram in March, down more than $2.00 since hitting a record high in January, Stats NZ said today. Overall, food prices fell 0.3 percent in March, mainly due to lower fruit and vegetable prices.Fruit and vegetable prices were down 3.0 percent due to seasonally lower prices for…..

Hello Kiwi looks to boost fresh fruit trade between SA and Greece
Currently, South Africa exports fresh fruit to Greece while Greece only exports processed fruit and vegetables to South Africa – but the European Union’s ‘Hello Kiwi’ programme is set to change that situation.The initial contacts were made last year over the Hostex period at a conference at the Gallagher…..

USDA announces $21.8mn fund to combat citrus greening
The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has announced $21.8 million in available funding to combat and manage citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB), which has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. The funding is made possible through NIFA’s Specialty Crop Research…..

Spain: Huelva’s local strawberries gain ground
The development of new strawberry varieties, as has been the case also with other red fruits, has been marked by the revolution observed in Huelva in recent years. Following the predominance of varieties imported from famous American universities, such as California or Florida, producers have gradually been…..

Giuseppe Iacovazzo, manager at Miriam Frutta
Italy: “Given the shortage of Italian oranges, we’ll turn to the Spanish”
This year, the Italian citrus season has been shorter and with a much smaller production than in other years. “At this time of the year, we usually resort to Spain, but this year we have depended on it almost all the time to be able to have a sufficient supply,” states Iacovazzo.That is why marketers and…..

US allows imports of fresh Vietnamese star apples
The US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has officially allowed the import of fresh star apple fruit from Vietnam into the US.According to the notice, which was published recently by the US Federal Register, the decision took effect on January 19.“Based on the findings of a pest risk analysis,…..
U.S. Senator receives over 2,000 potatoes in the mail
Senator Ron Johnson got an unwelcome surprise when he received 2,000 potatoes in the mail. The culprit was the Cards Against Humanity team, creators of a popular card game who are known for their unconventional take on charity and activism. The team invited fans to send a potato with the message, “Hold a town…..
Driscoll’s are growing Victoria berries using glasshouses and LEDs
Berry company Driscoll’s kicked off the Dutch season by taking the successful variety, Driscoll’s Victoria, to the glasshouse and, by using an innovative growing technique, the berry company states that it is producing good results.Driscoll’s growers Jan and Alfons Diepstraten of growers association Best of…..

CPMA 2017 in Toronto sells out of exhibit space
Exhibit space for the upcoming Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s (CPMA) Annual Convention and Trade Show in Toronto, May 9 to 11, is officially sold out. The Trade Show, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, will be the largest in the 92 – year history of CPMA , with 576 exhibit spaces from more than…..

Ahold Delhaize: 45% own-brand sales from healthy products by 2020
Carrefour’s Q1 sales rise | CEO of big African grocer looking to EU
Spanish Eroski signs deal with Kutxabank to support franchiseesSpanish retailer Eroski has signed an agreement with Kutxabank, a financial institution based in the Basque Country, to offer what it says are “advantageous financing conditions” to its franchisees. Eroski is seeking to exceed 100 franchised…..